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Monday, April 8, 2013

London Again

19th century jewelry at the British Museum

The first stop on my Europe Part 2 trip was London. I spent just two days there but packed in tons of stuff. The first day I arrived very early in the morning and after putting my luggage in storage at my apartment I hopped on the tube and went to the British Museum. I specifically went to see the wonderful collection of 19th century jewelry and then weaved my way through several more rooms to see as much jewelry as I could from other time periods. My favorite piece was this gold cape from the Bronze Age.

Later that evening I met up with metalsmith Mark Fenn and went to the opening reception of "Spare Parts," a solo exhibition of the work of David Clarke at Gallery SO. I know both artists via Facebook so it was fantastic to meet them in person and spend some time. David's show was great to view up close, too.

The next day I went to Raven Row Gallery to see an exhibition of the work ofBěla Kolářová. I was not familiar with her work until I visited this show and I'm so glad I did not miss it! Her photographs of arranged objects, collages of broken razor blades, and prototypes for jewelry were incredibly appealing to me.

Finally, I visited the Victoria and Albert both Friday and Saturday. On Friday I met up with Helen Carnac and we looked at the collection of contemporary ceramics. Then on Saturday I indulged myself with yet another visit just to see the jewelry which I will never, ever tire of. I got there right as the museum opened so I had about 20 minutes completely alone. It was heaven.